Mobile phones are being blamed for a sharp increase in road fatalities and the federal government is seeking help from police and road safety experts to reverse the trend.

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said he had "no doubt" that mobile phones were at least partly to blame for a 7 per cent rise in the number of deaths on Australian roads in the 12 months to November.

The higher death toll comes in spite of cars being made safer, with improved brakes and other protective features.

"I am particularly concerned with the rise in road trauma in the past two years after decades of reduction in annual fatality rates," he said. "I have no doubt that higher use of mobile phones is playing a role. The increased entrenchment of mobile phones has increased the temptation to check messages. There is anecdotal evidence from police that serious crashes result from this," Mr Chester said, although he noted there was no formal research to explain the trend.

"There are still problems with speed and illicit drugs, but mobile phones are an increasing part of the problem."

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Between November 2015 and November 2016 1185 Australians, including pedestrians and motor bike riders, were killed in road accidents, according to data from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

NSW police said it had issued 37,770 infringements for people using a handheld device while driving in 2016.

The AAMI Crash Index shows mobile phone use in cars is high. Nearly a quarter of drivers admit to reading or sending a text message while they are behind the wheel, including 39 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds. Some 36 per cent of drivers use their phone while stopped at a red light or stop sign, a figure that jumps to 52 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds.

About one in 10 drivers admit to reading emails or checking the web while driving.

"While the majority of people are doing the right thing, it's very concerning that so many people are continuing to put themselves and others at risk by using their mobile phones. Based on our research, around half of all motor accidents are caused when a driver is careless or loses his or her concentration," said a Suncorp spokesperson.

"This shows that even a split second spent with your eye on your phone rather than on the road is often the difference between a collision and a near miss," the spokesperson said.

Insurance behemoth IAG, which owns NRMA Insurance, SGIO and Swann Insurance, blamed a rise in general traffic accidents on more people living in congested urban areas and the increased use of technology.

"We're putting the rise in collisions down to two main things – increased urbanisation and distractions. It's a function of the times, with more technology available to distract people and the fear people have of being disconnected or bored. Not only do we have people using their mobile phones for calling or texting, the cars themselves can be a distraction with navigation, entertainment and communication systems," said Robert McDonald, director of IAG's research centre.

"Our urban areas are getting more congested and as you compress more cars in a smaller space, with more people stop-starting, it's causing more collisions," Mr McDonald said.

Research conducted in Germany by global insurer Allianz also found that the risk of accidents is increased significantly when drivers are distracted by devices like mobile phones. In Germany 60 per cent of drivers who had been involved in accidents over the past three years reported using a mobile phone while driving and approximately three-quarters of respondents reported being regularly distracted by built-in technology in their car.

"This result does not come as a surprise us. The more varied the technology and the more complicated its operation, the greater the distraction from road traffic," Allianz Versicherungs-AG board of management member Matthias Scheuber said.

Mr Chester cast doubt on the ability of more penalties to improve road safety, arguing that changing drivers' and pedestrians' mobile phone habits would likely have a bigger impact.

The minister said he had held meetings with policy and road safety experts and asked them to develop proposals about how best to solve the problem.

On its website, VicRoads warns drivers that using a mobile phone or other device, such as a Smartwatch, while driving or riding, "can be distracting, increasing your chance of being involved in a crash or near crash".

Using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited, except if the phone is secured in a fix holder or can be operated by the driver without touching it and the phone is not resting on any part of the driver's body.